Paper Rings
by darveyscactus
Summary: Harvey gets arrested and Mike and Louis rally to his defense; Donna does her best to cope with the uncertainty.


**This is my take on what could (should) have happened in 908. I started writing it with hopes to publish before the episode, but life got in the way and then **_that _**happened...but thank you to Sarah (catsballeths) for grieving with me and encouraging me to finish this the way I'd planned to. Hope you enjoy ~ **

* * *

The three of them were in Louis' office, and had been for quite some time. Louis and Harvey had long discarded their suit jackets and ties, and Donna's heels were lying empty on the floor in front of the couch. Harvey fiddled with the top button of his shirt after pushing up the sleeves to his elbows as Louis paced mindlessly back and forth in front of his desk.

The coffee table was littered with half full take out containers and empty glasses of scotch, remnants of a meal eaten hours ago. Food that Gretchen had insisted on ordering before she went home for the night, despite everyone's adrenaline being too high to eat a full serving. Donna had barely touched her food, only managing a handful of small bites before the weight of the situation once again became too much for her, leaving her feeling nauseous.

The early morning sun broke through the clouds and filled the office with a warm light as Donna stifled a yawn - yet another reminder that the trio had been at it all night. Not that they had anything to show for it, though. They were still at as much of a loss for how to get out of the corner they'd been backed into by Andrew Malik as they had been twelve hours ago.

"Let's call it quits for now," Louis finally said, fighting back his own yawn, "Mike and I have a meeting with the judge in a couple hours, we can regroup after that."

Donna and Harvey nod in agreement, too tired to do much else as they stand and gather their clothes and shoes discarded at some point during the night. Harvey moved to lead Donna out of the office, his hand raised to the small of her back before turning his head toward Louis, "thank you," he said, hoping the tone of his voice would carry the amount of gratitude he had for his partner and friend over the past several days.

* * *

The city was coming to life around them as they sat in the back of Ray's car, hands intertwined on the seat between them but both too physically and emotionally exhausted to say anything. They were on the way back to Harvey's apartment to hopefully get a couple hours of sleep before they were expected back at the office, but they both knew they'd be lucky to get a few minutes - their minds working on overdrive looking for any possible solution out of his current predicament.

It was as he crawled into bed beside her fresh out of the shower that she spoke for the first time since leaving the firm, her words so shocking to him that any hope he had of sleep was gone, his body now electrified.

"We should get married," she mumbled into her pillow, her voice rich with exhaustion. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was talking in her sleep, but the eye contact she was holding, and the look on her face led him to believe she was serious.

"Donna, what -," he started, not entirely sure how to respond, or what had prompted the suggestion.

"I'm serious, Harvey," she said, pushing herself up to a seated position and facing him.

He didn't respond, just let out a breath as a look of utter bewilderment spread across his face, his brain trying to understand where her sudden suggestion was coming from.

"We just spent how many hours going through every line of questioning Malik could possibly ask," she continued, "and every time we came back to questions that only I know the answer to," she admitted with a sigh.

Harvey let out another breath, understanding where she was coming from. She'd been on edge all night, and not just because of his arrest. But because with every passing hour it'd become more apparent that if it went to trial she'd have to take the stand and face Malik.

"Donna -," he began, in an attempt to calm the anxiety he could see rising inside her.

"Every time I've ever gotten on that stand, I break," she admitted, eyes glancing downwards, "and I -," she paused, taking a steadying breath, "I just can't do that to you," she finished, voice barely above a whisper.

"Donna," he said again, sitting beside her on the bed and pulling her into his side, "this is the real thing for me," stealing her phrase because he knew it'd bring a smile to her face, "_when _I marry you, I want to do it right," he explained.

"And I appreciate that Harvey," she started, his use of the word _when _not lost on her, "but I just want to make sure you're here so we _can _do it right," she said with a sigh, the weight of the situation weighing on both of them.

"_If _we do this," he started, slowly coming around to the idea, probably despite his better judgement, "how do we know Malik won't challenge the validity of the marriage?"

"He can't," she replied confidently.

"Huh?"

"Last time he questioned me, he all but said I'm COO because I slept my way there," she started to explain, the disgust evident in her voice, "_he _made our relationship more than professional. If he does challenge it, we can use his own words against him."

"Wow," he breathed, "who knew my wife was such a good lawyer," he said with a smile, and a quick kiss to the top of her head.

"Is that a yes?" she asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Let's see how Louis and Mike's meeting goes first?" he suggested, "how about that?"

He felt her nod against his chest as she cuddled deeper into him, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

* * *

It was later that day and Louis and Mike had just gotten back from their meeting with the judge on Harvey's case. She'd had his secretary schedule meetings out of the office for the afternoon, knowing he'd appreciate the distraction from what Mike and Louis were doing.

As she wandered down the hallway of the firm, she saw Louis at his desk, hunched over a stack of papers. She stopped in front of the open door, softly rapping her knuckles against the glass. Hearing the knock, Louis raised his head and motioned for her to enter.

She walked across the large office and slumped down in one of the chairs across from him. In the quiet of his office, she allowed herself to relax a bit, letting out several deep breaths she'd been holding in all day. They sat in silence for several minutes, Louis understanding that out of anyone, Harvey's situation had weighed on Donna the most. Days ago, he'd promised he'd be there for her in any way she needed, and if what she needed at that moment was a few minutes of quiet, he was happy to oblige.

"How bad it is?" she finally asked, her head leaning back against the top of the chair as she let out another breath.

"Donna -," he started, his voice low.

"Louis," she replied, sitting up and meeting his gaze, "I need you to be honest with me. What are we up against?" she practically pleaded.

"It's complicated," he admitted, "there's a lot of things Malik could use to build his case, and right now it's all about figuring out which, so we can start building our argument."

"Is he -," she started, pausing to swallow the tears she felt bubbling up, "is he going to lose?" she asked, barely wanting to speak those words into existence.

"Not if Mike and I have any say in it," he replied, reaching across his desk to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I mean, come on, have you ever seen a better team?" he joked, gesturing to himself, which made her crack a smile.

"I can't lose him," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "not like this," she finished, quickly wiping away the single tear that had fallen, hopeful Louis hadn't seen it.

Louis didn't reply right away, instead, standing up and crossing to the other side of his desk, stopping on the side of her chair and pulling her up into a hug. With another breath, she let a few more tears slip out as she let him comfort her.

After a couple moments, Louis pulled back, one hand coming to rest on each of her shoulders. He guided her in taking a couple deep breaths, holding her gaze before he spoke.

"Donna Roberta Paulsen, you and Harvey are my family and I fight for my family," he assured her. "No matter what happens, we're family," he finished, nodding along with each word as he spoke, hoping she'd take to heart what he was saying.

"Thank you, Louis," she said, grateful for his friendship over the past several days. As she turned to go, one of Louis' hands slid down her arm, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

She ran into Mike as she turned out of Louis' office, no doubt on his way to discuss some aspect of Harvey's case. They locked eyes for a minute and Donna could see that he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He'd kept Harvey out of prison once and he'd be damned if he couldn't do it a second time.

"Donna," Mike breathed, stopping in front of her and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Despite the fact that he'd been in town for nearly a week, he hadn't really had a chance to check in on her as most of his time had been spent with Louis working on Harvey's case.

"Thanks Mike," she breathed, smiling at her friend as fresh tears prickled behind her eyelids. She wished Rachel had been able to join Mike on this trip, since, of all of them she understood what she was going through the most, but someone had to keep their firm in Seattle afloat. They'd spoken on the phone nearly every night since his arrest, but there was something about being able to hug your best friend when things were hard, and she was missing that.

"Don't let him do anything stupid," she said after a few moments of silence, her words bringing a small smile to both their faces.

"Like getting married?" he quickly volleyed back, letting out a breathy laugh.

She didn't respond immediately, but tilted her head to one side and pursed her lips slightly, shaking her head a bit. She wasn't surprised that he'd told Mike, but from the way he'd said it, she wasn't sure what he thought of the suggestion.

"He'd do it," he started, giving her some insight into their conversation, "he'd do it in a heartbeat if he thought that's what you really wanted."

"But?"

"But," he continued, letting out a breath as he spoke, not surprised that she was immediately able to tell that there was more to the story, "he doesn't want you to regret doing it so quickly."

"Mike," she said, her voice soft, Harvey's ability to prioritize her needs even during his own time of personal crisis leaving her emotional not for the first time, "the only thing I'd regret is if we don't do it, and he goes to prison," she admitted, shifting her gaze to meet his.

"Well let's make sure it doesn't come to that," he replied, pulling her close to kiss her cheek before passing her and entering Louis' office.

* * *

Their meeting with the judge was running later than she'd expected it to. It'd taken the better part of two days, but Harvey, Louis, and Mike had compiled instances of Malik's malicious prosecution against not only Harvey, but Cahill as well. Their claims were irrefutable and they had Malik backed into a corner, and he knew that. All that was left was the meeting with the judge to present the evidence and get the case dismissed.

She decided to wait it out at his apartment, at the time thinking it'd be better than sitting at the courthouse on the other side of the door. But now, as seconds turned to minutes turned to hours and she still hadn't heard any news, she wasn't so sure.

She'd tried distracting herself with the book she'd been reading, but quickly cast it aside as her eyes poured over the words without her brain retaining a single one. She poured herself a glass of wine, nursing it slowly before her anxiety got the best of her and she downed it in a couple gulps. She cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, reorganized the meager amount of food in his refrigerator, and dusted his record collection - all futile attempts to put her wandering mind to rest.

She was curled up on the couch, mindlessly picking fuzz off of the throw blanket she'd purchased to bring some warmth to his very masculine living room when she heard keys in the lock. She tossed the blanket off her lap and practically jumped to standing, waiting for him to walk through the door.

He walked into the apartment and dropped his keys and suit jacket on the counter, all while holding her gaze. He let out a long breath, and as he did Donna watched the tension fall from her shoulders as the corners of his lips turned upwards into the slightest of smiles. He didn't need to say anything more than that, she knew.

She crossed the room and was in his arms in barely two steps, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and her face angled into his neck, breathing in the scent that was so distinctly Harvey. His arms wrapped around her waist and back, pulling her in even tighter. Her body began to shake as she let out all the tears she'd managed to keep inside her for most of the week, now tears of relief with the knowledge that he - they - were safe. His hand began to rub soothing circles in the center of her back as he turned his head to whisper in her ear, "It's over," he breathed, 'I'm fine."

She laughed through her tears as she pulled back to face him, her hands moving across his shoulders to rest on his forearms. She was smiling so wide it was starting to hurt her cheeks, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that he was safe, he was home, and he was in her arms.

"I love you, Harvey," she breathed as he brought his thumb to her cheek to wipe away some of the tears that had fallen before his hands took residence on her waist, "so much."

"I love you too," he replied, bringing his lips to hers for a quick kiss, "and I would have been home sooner, but I had to make a stop," he finished, a smile to match her own spread across her face.

"What -," she started to question, looking beyond his shoulder to see if he'd brought anything extra home with him. Before she could finish her thought, she felt him grab both her hands, the slight tug directing her gaze downwards. And there, right before her, was Harvey Specter on one knee, ready to ask her the one question he'd been dreaming of asking her since that night in her apartment all those months ago.

"Harvey," she breathed, tears falling quicker as she took in what was about to happen.

"This week was terrifying for me," he admitted, "not because I could have lost my job, or the firm, or my license, or my reputation, or a million other things. But because going to prison would have meant losing more time with you. And we've already wasted more than enough time not being together. I love you completely, and with my whole heart and I just can't wait another minute."

He paused, dropping one of his hands and reaching into his pocket, revealing a royal blue box she immediately recognized as Harry Winston. She let out a breathy laugh through her tears - when he said he'd wanted to do it right, he'd really meant it.

He opened the box and took her hand again, revealing the most exquisite diamond she'd ever seen. It was stunning, and she could tell he'd labored over a choice that she'd love, but she'd marry him with paper rings if it came down to it. Because all that mattered was him, and the future they'd get to build together.

"Donna Roberta Paulsen, will you marry me?" he asked, looking up at her with expectant eyes.

"Absolutely," she breathed, as soon as the words had left his mouth. He slid the ring on her finger and she pulled him up to standing, throwing her arms around him and pulling him flush to her for the second time that night.

After several moments, she felt him pull back slightly. Before she could protest the lack of contact, she felt his hands smoothing across her hair, angling her face towards his before his lips met hers. She felt so much emotion behind that kiss that her knees began to buckle, and she tightened her grip on him in response. She kissed him back with equal ferocity, hoping that he'd be able to understand all the emotions behind it - her gratitude that he was free and safe, the depth of love she felt for him, and her excitement for their future together that was just beginning.

* * *

**I hope this does a little to heal your post-908 broken heart - leave a review and let me know what you think!**


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